The present invention relates to a method of operating an internal combustion engine, in particular in a motor vehicle.
More particularly, it relates to a method of operating an internal combustion engine, in accordance with which, from the signals of two detecting devices, angular positions of a crankshaft and a camshaft are determined, and in which a relative angular position of one shaft relative to another shaft is monitored.
The invention also relates to a computer program, to an electrical storage medium for a control and/regulating device of an internal combustion engine, to a control and/regulating device for an internal combustion engine, and to an internal combustion engine.
A method of the above mentioned general type is disclosed for example in the German patent document DE 100 32 332 A1. In this document it is described that for monitoring and diagnosis an association of the angular position of the camshaft of an internal combustion engine to a crankshaft must be tested, whether the signals of a detecting device for detecting the camshaft angle and a detecting device for detecting the crankshaft angle are plausible relative to one another.
Here and later a relative angular position is identified as the angular position of a reference mark on one shaft relative to a reference mark on another shaft. Since the camshaft and the crankshaft are conventionally coupled with one another through a transmission device, the angular positions of the both shafts relative to one another are equal at least in predetermined operational conditions of the internal combustion engine, if the internal combustion engine operates correctly. When a difference between an actual angular position of the camshaft with respect to a nominal angular position exceeds a predetermined threshold, then an action is released. Such a difference can be for example obtained when the detecting devices are positioned erroneously or when an error occurs during the signal processing.